MCC Continues to be a Leader of Online Learning Platforms

With award-winning experience and a strong line-up of curriculums created to run online, Middlesex Community College continues to help students reach their academic goals throughout the pandemic. For the Spring 2021 semester, Middlesex will offer about 90 percent of courses online. Registration is now open.

“MCC’s faculty have 20+ year experience teaching online,” said Roxanne McCorry, MCC’s Director of Academic Technology & Distance Learning “Through the use of web conferencing tools, interactive activities, engaging content and flexible course schedules, students can take a variety of courses to attain their goals.”

Designed to best meet the needs of students, MCC’s online courses run via three primary learning modalities, including asynchronous online, synchronous online and a hybrid blend of online and face-to-face. All of MCC’s online class formats use Blackboard as the Learning Management tool, and require students to complete coursework by specific due dates, according to McCorry.

· In asynchronous online learning, instructors and students interact with course materials, assignments and each other through Blackboard. While there are no live classes that meet in real-time, students can make an appointment to meet with their instructor.

· Students taking synchronous online courses attend live classes at specific dates and times, and engage with professors and classmates in a live, remote setting using a camera and microphone.

· Blended face-to-face with online courses allow students to complete coursework online and come to campus only to finish practical experiences in a safe and controlled setting while following MCC’s strict safety protocols and social distancing.

Margaleet Katzenblickstein is an MCC Dual Enrollment student from Westford. She is interested in music and world languages and expects to graduate in the spring of 2022. As she is homeschooled, Katzenblickstein chose MCC to meet her educational goals, as well as for an introduction to learning at the college level.

Taking advantage of MCC’s Learning Online Practice Course helped prepare Katzenblickstein for the Fall semester and her online courses.

“Although I had taken summer classes online and was familiar with the technology, I wanted to improve my confidence learning online and brush up in areas where I could use some improvement,” she said. “It made me a bit more familiar with the way Blackboard and online schooling work.”

Katzenblickstein enjoys synchronous online courses because she can see her professors and classmates on screen throughout class. She appreciates the benefits of online learning – especially as it helps her to remain safe during the pandemic – and found she learned a lot.

So far, she has enjoyed her time at Middlesex.

“I really appreciate the diverse array of classes and opportunities MCC offers students – whatever the age,” she said.

MCC’s WinterSession will run Monday, January 4 through January 22, 2021. The Spring 2021 semester starts on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, including Spring Mini-mester I. Spring Mini-mester II starts on Monday, March 29.

For more information and to register for courses, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!